If you are Pinterest junkie like me, you’ve probably been inundated by the holiday pictures already with everything from making your own paper maché stockings to unique gifts made from paperclips. Don’t get me wrong. I love perusing some of the crazy ideas and the really good ones. It’s a great source to find inspiration for just about anything you might need inspiration for.

Lately, my Pinterest homepage has been churning out stovetop potpourri recipes. Sure, boiling a huge pot of fruit and spices will make your house smell amazeballs but then what are you going to do with it? Leave it on your stove? Dump it out? I have a better solution. Why not cook up a huge pot of fruit and spices that will not only make your house smell like an enchanted holiday fruit forest but that you can also taste as well as sniff?

There is something unbelievably comforting about the warm welcoming scents of cinnamon and vanilla. Allowed to simmer for 2 hours, these apples and pears become infused with the cozy blanket of holiday spice and make your whole house smell marvelous. My husband even noticed the heartwarming smell a whole day later.

The addition of honey makes a light syrup that allows the fruit to stay at the forefront while cinnamon, vanilla and cloves round out the flavors perfectly. You can serve this warm by itself, over ice cream or cake, or with your morning oatmeal. It’s also delicious cold and if you mash it up, it makes a wonderful spiced sauce that would be fabulous with potato pancakes or pork chops.

Cinnamon Spiced Apples & Pears

www.barbaracooks.com

Servings: 8 • Size: 1 cup • Weight Watcher Points+: 6

Calories: 216 • Fat: 0g • Carbs: 59g • Fiber: 6g • Protein: 0g

Sugars: 47g • Sodium: 74mg • Cholesterol: 0mg

Ingredients:

6 medium firm pears

6 medium apples

2/3 cup honey

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

6 whole cloves

1 vanilla bean, split

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup water

Directions:

Peel, core and quarter the pears and apples. Place them in a large pot with the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium low heat 2 hours, stirring carefully 3-4 times during cooking.